Improvement in shaft-tugs



A. F. MORSE. Shaft-Tug.

Patented Sept. 28.1875.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIOE.

ALBERT F. MORSE, OF SHARON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHAFT-TUGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 168,275, datedSeptember 28, 1875; application filed April 2, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. MORSE, of Sharon, Norfolk county, State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Shaft- Tugs; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full and correct description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure1 is a perspective view of my in vention, and Fig. 2 is a sectionshowing the rolls and the manner in which they are made removable.

The object of my invention is to produce a shaft-tug that will be bothornamental and durable, and at the same time a protection to the shaft,easy to the horses back, and more easily harnessed and unharnessed; andit consists in providing the tug with removable friction-rolls, whichlessen the friction between the tug and the shaft, and are soconstructed that when they themselves are worn they may be easilyreplaced by others.

In the drawing, A is the backstrap, and B the belly-band, ofthe'harness. The shaft-tug, which is composed of the strap 0 'and metalpart D, is supported upon the back-strap A by the buckle a, in the usualmanner. In the outer metallic part D of the tug I place two or morefriction-rolls, F F, constructed of rubber, rawhide, or other yieldingdurable material, and, by the means hereinafter described, easilyremoved and replaced. In

casting the metallic part D I make, in addition to the spaces for therollers F F to be hung in, a recess, 1), having sides parallel to theends of the rolls, which operate next to said sides, forming bearingsfor the shaft, upon which the roll revolves.

At the opposite ends of the rolls are also cross-bars for similarbearings. Through these bars or bearings I pass a pin, 0, headed at oneend,

and having a hole and pin at the other. Upon these pins 0 the rubberrolls revolve, being properly bushed with metal to prevent wear. Thesame efl'ect may be produced by casting the metallic part D in twoparts, as shown in Fig. 1, and securing them together with the pins thatsecure the straps at each end of the metallic piece D. g V

The advantages arising from this mode of constructing shaft-tugs arenumerous, as it lessens the adhesion between thetug and the shaft, andthereby tends to prevent sore backs upon horses, and difficulties intaking the horses from the shafts. But the greater advantage is ineconomy in the use of both tugs and shafts, as a pair of tugs willoutlast several sets of har ness, and the shafts of the wagon remainuninjured, while the removable rolls will enable the tugs themselves tobe renewed over and over again.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A shaft-tug provided with removable friction-rolls, substantially asdescribed.

2. The friction-rolls F F and pins 0, in combination with the metallicshaft-tug D, having recess b, substantially as described.

The above specification of my said invention signed and witnessed atSharon, Massachusetts, this 29th day of March, A. D. 1875.

ALBERT F. MORSE.

Witnesses:

LIZZIE M. BILLINGS, ABBIE O. BILLINGS

